On My Own - Greg_L original clusterfuck

[Greg_L]

I could have sworn I commented on this a few days ago. But, I just realized we're on page 3 and I didn't get any notifications. I must have heard it and said I'd comment later, and then forgot.

So, anyway.....This kiks. How the fuck you do that bass drum shit??? Jesus. It's tight as hell. Double pedal???? I can hear why someone asked if it was a drum machine. Those bass drums are almost too perfect.

Everything rocks in this. Maybe the cymbals are a little too sizzly??? Though that can be my ears since I'm working on a song right now and have been listening to it over and over again, so anything else may sound weird to me for now.

Great job as usual, Greg. Top-notch production and performance.

Thanks a lot Rami. I dunno, the double kick stuff comes pretty easy for me, but I can't keep it up for too long.

I think it's my overheads making the cymbals sound sizzly. I don't eq or do anything to my overhead tracks. Maybe it's time to start fiddling with it.

 

[Greg_L]

Greg,
your ears are extraordinary.
I always pay close attention to any detail you note & recco you make because you hear stuff I can't or don't hear.
Added to writing, performing & recording ace tunes well...
I'd have to say that you & RAMI are almost machines - but you've too fecund to be automatons. Freaks of nature then!

Haha thanks Ray. Rami is the guy that really inspired me when I first got here. Blame it on him.

 

[Atom Bomb]

I need inspiration.... Fuck.

 

[Greg_L]

Listen to Motorhead at high volume. Works for me every time.

 

[RAMI]

I think it's my overheads making the cymbals sound sizzly. I don't eq or do anything to my overhead tracks. Maybe it's time to start fiddling with it.

No man, don't start fiddling based on my ears, which are shot (and shit).

 

[Greg_L]

Lol. Maybe. My cymbals aren't the best recording cymbals in a small room. They're awesome as shit live though.

 

[PoeticIntensity]

If you like someone's kick drum or guitar, ask about it. You might not have the same equipment, but maybe you can learn from their technique to make your stuff better.

Okay... So, some questions (if the answers have been posted elsewhere, I couldn't find them...)

• What mic do you use on your snare and kick? And what placement? (I seem to have read somewhere that you put your kick mic like 6 inches from the batter head)
• How did you EQ your snare and bass to get them to sound the way they do?
• What overhead mics do you use, and what mic configuration / placement?

Also, it'd be beyond cool if I could get a mix of *only* the drums for On My Own. I know it's a lot to ask, but hearing them alone would help out tons....

So... There ya go! Thanks for the info. Again - that mix is killer...

 

[Greg_L]

What mic do you use on your snare and kick? And what placement? (I seem to have read somewhere that you put your kick mic like 6 inches from the batter head)

I use the mics from the Cad Pro 7pc kit. I don't know what the kick mic is called from that mic pack. I used a Shure PG57 on the snare for this song.

How did you EQ your snare and bass to get them to sound the way they do?

I don't know if you've seen it, but I explain most of this in my "rock drums" thread in the drum section. It's a sticky.

The kick is a 22x20 Mapex Pro-M with an Evans EMAD 2 batter and EQ3 reso. Plastic beaters. It gets a pretty big scoop in the 400 region, and some boost around 3-5k depending on what kind of sound I want. The kicks in this song are kind of fast and need to be articulate, so I went with less boom and more attack. The snare is pretty much as-is. It's a Black Panther Premium Brass 14x5.5 - Evans Power-Center Reverse Dot batter - Ambassador Hazy Reso - Puresound 20-strand wires - mic'd about 2 inches up and about 2 inches back off the rim pointed somewhere between the center of the head and the rim.

What overhead mics do you use, and what mic configuration / placement?

I use the SDC's that come in the kit I mentioned earlier in the Recorderman configuration. My room is pretty terrible for tracking drums, but it's treated well and good for mixing.

Also, it'd be beyond cool if I could get a mix of *only* the drums for On My Own. I know it's a lot to ask, but hearing them alone would help out tons....

Here ya go. Knock yourself out.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=20469

 

[Greg_L]

Fuck it. Here's my whole drum setup if anyone gives a shit:

Mapex Pro-M
22x20 kick - Evans Emad 2/EQ3
14x7 Pro-M maple snare - Remo Powerstroke3/Ambassador Hazy/Puresound 30-strand
14x5.5 Black Panther Brass snare - Evans Power-Center Reverse Dot/Ambassador Hazy/Puresound 20-strand
12x9 tom - Evans EC2 Clear/G1
13x10 tom - Evans EC2 Clear/G1
16x16 tom - Evans EC2 Clear/G1
18x16 tom - Evans EC2 Clear/G1

Paiste 2002 15" Sound-Edge Hi-Hats
Paiste 2002 16" Medium Crash
Paiste 2002 18" Medium Crash
Paiste 2002 20" Medium Crash
Paiste RUDE 20" Crash/Ride
Paiste 2002 22" Power Ride

Mapex and Gibraltar hardware

Iron Cobra Powerglide double pedal

Piece o' shit Pulse throne

AHead 2B sticks

Cad Pro 7pc mic kit

 

[RAMI]

Piece o' shit Pulse throne

You mange to get a great sound out of that.

 

[Greg_L]

You mange to get a great sound out of that.

Which is no small feat because this piece of shit squeaks.

 

[PoeticIntensity]

Here ya go. Knock yourself out.

Thank you, Greg. Just listened to them the whole way through, and even with the drums alone, the sound still shines.

I really, really like the verb you put on the bass and snare, that is if you added any verb at all. If you didn't, I'm gonna come stalk your studio whether you like it or not.

Some thoughts... I played a Black Panther snare once. I really, really liked the sound. The difference between that and my Gretsch 14" maple is staggering. I also need to learn how to tune my snare. I think that's one big difference between the sound you're getting and the sound I'm not getting. I'll work on that.

Yup... The drums in that recording are fat, punchy, "kick ya in the teeth", and in all other respects - very well done.

Thanks for humoring me.

 

[Chili]

Here ya go. Knock yourself out.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=20469

Umm, that was pretty cool.

 

[joeym]

Shit, that sounds awesome...not just the sound, the playing too!
Your timing's amazing....

 

[Greg_L]

Thank you, Greg. Just listened to them the whole way through, and even with the drums alone, the sound still shines.

I really, really like the verb you put on the bass and snare, that is if you added any verb at all. If you didn't, I'm gonna come stalk your studio whether you like it or not.

Some thoughts... I played a Black Panther snare once. I really, really liked the sound. The difference between that and my Gretsch 14" maple is staggering. I also need to learn how to tune my snare. I think that's one big difference between the sound you're getting and the sound I'm not getting. I'll work on that.

Yup... The drums in that recording are fat, punchy, "kick ya in the teeth", and in all other respects - very well done.

Thanks for humoring me.

Thanks and you're welcome. I don't put any reverb on the individual pieces. I bus the drum tracks to a group track and reverb the kit as a whole. I go back and forth with reverb. Lately I've been slowly getting back into more reverb on my drums, but I've also done a bunch with little to no reverb. So it really just depends on my mood and how it fits the song. My music usually doesn't leave much room for big bombastic reverby drums. I usually go for dry-ish and punchy. Those faster double-time parts would sound like total ass with a bunch of reverb mucking it all up.

As far as snares go, I think any *good* snare will work in just about any situation if you take the time to experiment with heads and tuning. I really like this Black Panther for my own recordings, but I use my deeper maple snare with my band which is more plain rock and less aggressive than my own music. The maple snare has more body and tone. Fatter sounding. There's a Ludwig Supraphonic coming on the very near horizon - the grandaddy of em all. I'm not crazy with the snare sound I got for this recording, but I don't think it's terrible. This BP snare definitely needs a new batter head at least. It's been pretty much brutalized. I hit pretty hard.

 

[Greg_L]

Umm, that was pretty cool.

Shit, that sounds awesome...not just the sound, the playing too!
Your timing's amazing....

Thanks fellas. I think you'll notice that I don't do anything complex or difficult. Some of my double kicks at the end get shitty, but fuck it. I just try to keep it close to the vest and tight with the click. It's all about the click with music like this. This kind of music has no "groove", so you gotta be tight. I'm a pretty big believer that a simpler part played well is better than a complex part played poorly. Everyone's knows that AC/DC's drums are bare-bones simple, but I don't ever hear anyone complaining. That's my philosophy. Keep it simple but try to play it well so people don't notice how simple it really is.

 

[PoeticIntensity]

I'm a pretty big believer that a simpler part played well is better than a complex part played poorly.

I think that's the best kept secret about drumming. Why? Because it seems that drummers who can crank out amazing solos are far more common than ones who can get in a studio, set up a click, and follow a simple 4/4 rock beat solidly.

Many a band-mate has told me, "Yeah... We had an awesome drummer who played great live, but when came recording time, he couldn't follow a click to save his life."

 

[Atom Bomb]

I think that's the best kept secret about drumming. Why? Because it seems that drummers who can crank out amazing solos are far more common than ones who can get in a studio, set up a click, and follow a simple 4/4 rock beat solidly.

Many a band-mate has told me, "Yeah... We had an awesome drummer who played great live, but when came recording time, he couldn't follow a click to save his life."

And i +1 this.